Love Me Back (Amelia and Daniel) novel Chapter 119

The room was quiet, lit only by the soft glow of a nightlight.

On the bed, she lay on her side, eyes closed in peaceful sleep, a faint blush lingering on her pale face.

The carpet muffled every footstep, so when Daniel crossed the room, he made no sound at all.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and simply watched her for a moment.

Amelia was sound asleep. Maybe he was bored sitting there alone, because Daniel reached out and pinched her nose. “I told you not to spend so much time with Violet, but you wouldn’t listen. See what happened?”

She seemed to hear him—or maybe she just found the pinch uncomfortable—because her brow furrowed and she muttered, “Go away.”

Daniel let out a laugh, half exasperated, half amused. “Even in your dreams, you can’t stand me?”

“It’s not that I can’t stand you…” Amelia replied, eyes still shut, her voice groggy. “I hate you.”

The words caught in Daniel’s chest. He considered pinching her awake, but seeing her lying there, looking so pitiful, he just couldn’t do it.

“You hate me, huh? You ganged up with strangers to force me to sign those papers, and I haven’t even complained yet.” He poked her gently on the forehead, frustration mixing with affection. “You’re supposed to be smart, but you use all your brainpower against me. Little troublemaker.”

Amelia gave a sleepy, disgruntled hum.

“…If you’d just sign, I’d stop bothering you.”

Daniel leaned on his arm, tilting his head as he studied her. “Are you awake or are you dreaming right now?”

As soon as he asked, he realized how pointless the question was. She’d nagged him about signing enough times when she was awake; if she was still at it in her dreams, her desire for divorce must be ironclad.

He clicked his tongue, a sound somewhere between resignation and disappointment. “You really want to divorce me that badly? The more you try to leave me for someone else, the less I want to let you go. My advice? Give up on the divorce. If you stop bringing it up all the time, maybe one day I’ll come around and let you go. Maybe.”

The woman on the bed didn’t respond. She must have drifted back into a deeper sleep.

Daniel’s gaze lingered over her face, tracing from her eyes to her nose to her lips. On a whim, he took her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

He’d spent most of the night by her bedside, and now the usually put-together Mr. Campbell looked a little ragged. He slung his jacket over his shoulder and waved off Charles with a lazy smirk. “Don’t get your hopes up. I’m not interested. See you.”

Charles could only stare after him, speechless.

…

When Amelia woke, the fever was gone.

Mrs. Johnson was in the room. She handed Amelia a glass of water when she saw her sit up.

Amelia’s throat was dry. She took a sip, then managed a quiet, “Thank you. Mrs. Johnson, how did I end up here?”

“It was Charles’s idea,” Mrs. Johnson explained. “We have some basic medical equipment at home. It’s easier to take care of you here than in a hospital. Now get up and freshen up, then we’ll have breakfast together.”

Charles was a doctor, and one of the few people who knew Amelia was pregnant. That was exactly why she’d insisted on leaving with Charles the previous day; if Daniel had taken her to the hospital, her pregnancy would almost certainly have been discovered.